ASEAN should condemn the Myanmar military junta if its proceeds tomorrow with the arbitrary trial of Nobel Peace Prize Laureatee and Burmese pro-democracy icon, Aung San Suu Kyi despite world-wide protests and release her from the notorious Insein Prison.
The revocation of the licence of a top lawyer, Aung Thien, barring him from defending Suu Kyi is ominous sign of the length the Myanmese military junta is prepared to go ensure that she remains in detention despite the expected expiry of her six-year house arrest on May 27 and to keep her sidelined ahead of the junta’s promised elections in 2010 as part of its sham seven-step “roadmap to democracy”.
Malaysia should take the lead in such ASEAN condemnation which should be formally decided by the Cabinet at its meeting on Wednesday.
Malaysia should also convene an emergency meeting of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers to consider the measures that the regional organisation can take against such flagrant violation of the ASEAN Charter, particularly the commitment given by ASEAN nations to protect and promote human rights in their respective countries.
#1 by -ec- on Sunday, 17 May 2009 - 4:57 pm
1) I would say Aung San Suu Kyi truly has the personality of Mandela and Ghandi.
2) the concept of constructive engagement from the mahathir’s time has failed.
3) what will be the charge against Aung San Suu Kyi? sodomy? i wonder. the myanma junta government may have learned something from their neighbor.
#2 by cintanegara on Sunday, 17 May 2009 - 6:06 pm
When Malaysians were treated badly in another country, LKS doesn’t seem to be interested…. what a pity
#3 by katdog on Sunday, 17 May 2009 - 6:21 pm
“When Malaysians were treated badly in another country, LKS doesn’t seem to be interested…. what a pity” – cintanegara
I know Malaysians living in Singapore, Australia, Japan, Germany, America, Canada and UK. And all of them are being treated better than Malaysians living in Malaysia.
What other country are you talking about?
#4 by katdog on Sunday, 17 May 2009 - 6:30 pm
Myanmar. Another one of the failed ‘projects’ by the Mahathir administration.
Probably Mahathir had hoped to teach and convince the Junta how they could retain complete control over a country whilst still having sham elections. In return, the Junta would be grateful to Malaysia thus opening up trade privileges for Malaysia.
Unfortunately the social environment for Myanmar was different from Malaysia, and the Junta failed to obtain the results they wanted from their first attempt at holding sham democratic elections. They showed Malaysia the middle finger and went back to do drawing board to come up with their own methods.
No doubt in 2010, when the Junta holds its sham democracy, Dr. M will try to claim some credit or ‘moral victory’ for the event.
#5 by collin1202 on Sunday, 17 May 2009 - 7:39 pm
YB
I fully agree ASEAN should exert more pressure on the military junta in Myanmar to observe & respect what is fair play, clearly they are using guns to intimidate the weak and unarmed. I simply cannot understand such cowardly act of these power-craze and corrupted generals to stay in power knowing very well, the people in their country are starving. Hell with these military junta.
#6 by frankyapp on Sunday, 17 May 2009 - 7:40 pm
I think it’s pretty difficult for any ASEAN leaders to condemn the Nyanma Junta trial of ASSK.All it’s members are human rights abusers .The only deferent is the degree of abuse.So what’s,an abuse is an abuse. ASEAN is like a flock of black sheep without a shepherd .So how can any of those black sheep calling one of it’s own white ?.All ASEAN can do,I think is to ask Nyanma Junta top leaders to restrain it’s human rights abuse of ASSK’s trial.What happen to the UN’s watch dog on universal human rights abuse ?.ASEAN should request this committee to deal with the Nyanma Junta and help ASSK without much hurting it’s own black member sheep.
#7 by TomThumb on Sunday, 17 May 2009 - 7:54 pm
malaysia under najib is in no position to preach to the rest of the world not even to its southeast asian neighbour.
#8 by isahbiazhar on Sunday, 17 May 2009 - 8:13 pm
As long as China and India support the Junta,Asean can just keep quiet.Myanmar is actually ruled by China and India and only these two countries can decide the fate of Myanmar.Even America has no say and this will go on for some time as China and India need all the resources from Myanmar to develop their countries.The Junta will rule without any fear or favour.Asean can bark but it is silenced as it reaches the shore.Suu Kye will languish and die with her dreams.What a pity!
#9 by mata_kucing on Sunday, 17 May 2009 - 8:27 pm
How to comment when our own government is no better? They also tried all sort of dirty tactics to deny the opposition their rightful place. The Burma junta uses the army. Here we use the police and the judiciary. It would be like a pot calling a kettle black. In fact, I think the BN is trying to copycat the Burma junta.
#10 by limkamput on Sunday, 17 May 2009 - 8:28 pm
malaysia under najib is in no position to preach to the rest of the world not even to its southeast asian neighbour.
TomToe
See the lack of discernment.
Hello, it is LKS preaching Najib, not asking Najib preaching Malaysia’s neighbours. Got it? Or may be it is too difficult again.
#11 by negarawan on Sunday, 17 May 2009 - 9:19 pm
LKS, it would be hypocritical for the Malaysian cabinet to condemn Myanmar or any other country for injustice when UMNO itself is guilty of gross miscarriage of justice in Malaysia.
#12 by ChinNA on Sunday, 17 May 2009 - 9:38 pm
When Malaysians were treated badly in another country, LKS doesn’t seem to be interested…. what a pity — cintanegara
Cintanegara, can you provide some solid examples? That will help enlighten the folks here. If not, it could just be another rhetoric.
#13 by ChinNA on Sunday, 17 May 2009 - 9:44 pm
limkamput,
I read it that TomThumb (I believe you referring to TomThumb when you typed TomToe) is saying LKS should not have ask the Najib cabinet to condemn the junta as they do not have the moral right to do that.
It is just like what negarawan said
“LKS, it would be hypocritical for the Malaysian cabinet to condemn Myanmar or any other country for injustice when UMNO itself is guilty of gross miscarriage of justice in Malaysia.”
To each his own interpretation of what TomThumb wrote.
#14 by the reds on Sunday, 17 May 2009 - 9:49 pm
3-in-one wonder boy, Zambry should make it 4-in-one!
#15 by yhsiew on Sunday, 17 May 2009 - 11:50 pm
Malaysia must quickly resolve the Perak crisis to restore the country’s self-respect before it can claim to be able to solve international problems and contribute to world peace.
Who is Malaysia to tell Myanmar junta what to do when its own backyard is in chaos and disarray?
#16 by monsterball on Sunday, 17 May 2009 - 11:50 pm
cintanegara is a low class agent from BN.
Limkamput THINKS he is a high class agent.
#17 by Jeffrey on Monday, 18 May 2009 - 12:03 am
Reference is made here to ChinNA’s comments:
Today at 21: 44.13 (1 hour ago).
Tom Thumb and negarawan may say the same thing but Lim Kam Put would selectively criticise Tom Thumb because his focus is not just discuss issues but settle personal scores!
In this blog, YB Kit invites readers to read and if so inclined post a comment.
Comments left here are contributions by readers who take their time to day their piece.
One is entitled to think the comments left here are sensible or not sensible; one can read the comments or skip them.
If one wants to criticise go ahead, do it civilly, but that is quite different from throwing insults (not discerning, stupid etc) as Lim Kam Put does, and even admits he likes to insult certain posters here….
I think we can benefit even from the opinions of a nincompooops – even a fool has a story to tell – that is why I don’t mind even to occasionally read Lim Kam Put’s postings.
I wonder what right does one like Lim Kam Put have to insult the contributions of guests/readers of LKS in this blog amongst whom the one criticising and vexing others is himself a guest???
Hello if you have issues and need to insult others to prove a point to yourself, do it in your own blog and don’t bring your issues over here to disrupt the forum here.
#18 by monsterball on Monday, 18 May 2009 - 12:03 am
hi Limkamput….Lim Kit Siang is not preaching!
He is advising Najib to lead and show to Asian countries…how great UMNO government is.
What is wrong with that excellent advise?
Maybe you study too much and forget easily…Lim Kit Siang is a well established Freedom Fighter….long before you are born.
Do not try to paint LKS or any PR guys are hypocrites.
You want to support BN…go ahead..but stop trying to be too bloody smart….which you actually is..not so.
Go and be a father..and come back…10 years later.
#19 by anna brella on Monday, 18 May 2009 - 5:11 am
With respect: For those who understand what Freedom really means, you will know why there is no Myanmar to the true Burmese but only their beloved BURMA.
No one, not even the dictatorial mighty force of the SLORC/SPDC military junta, can erase or change a nation’s legitimate name of birth without first getting the mutual agreement of that nation’s collective people.
How would you like it if someone unilaterally and arbitrarily changed your name to something else without asking your permission? And if they forcibly did it anyway, would you respond/answer to your forcibly imposed name?
http://freeaungsansuukyi.org/FASSK
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1991/kyi-acceptance.html
“Imagine Power To The People” John Lennon.
#20 by chengho on Monday, 18 May 2009 - 5:33 am
lks,
go and engage China n India and virgil protest infont of their embassises , they are the super power behind Myanmar junta…
#21 by Jeffrey on Monday, 18 May 2009 - 7:38 am
“……..it is LKS preaching Najib, not asking Najib preaching Malaysia’s neighbours. Got it?…..”
According to this very “discerning view”, Najib is of course no position to preach to the rest of southeast asian neighbour (Myanmar) which would turn around to say Malaysia is no better….
So the purpose of LKS cajoling Malaysian leader to galvanise ASEAN to exert pressure on Myanmar Junta on its further human rights trangressions by further indicting Ms Aung San Suu Kyi and de-licensing her lawyer is not so much that this could effectively improve the situtation in Myanmar – the generals would just scoff and tell Malaysian and other ASEAN leaders not to be hypocrites – but by such a move, to turn the spotlight back to Malaysia’s deficit in our own human rights record with the view to improving the situation here.
To use a homespun parable, and for dramatization purposes, it is like cajoling (say) a courtesan lady of the night (sex worker or prostitute if you like) to take on an additional day time job to lecture and teach moral education (with particular emphasis on sexual morality) to a bunch of secondary school girls on why it is important for all “good girls” to be abstemious of extra-marital sex and to wait until marriage with the men they love and commit to for the rest of their lives.
Well according to this very “discerning” view, the person cajoling the prostitute jolly well knows that those of secondary girls given to promiscuous ways will not heed the moral lessons and will turn around to question their teacher’s moral credentials and hypocrisy instead.
However the cajoling still serves the purpose of ushering the prostitute to a difficult spot and straining her claim and pretensions to virtue: if she declines the offer to teach morals, people can attack her for not upholding the virtues of the day; if she accepts, she feels the strain of preaching that which she does not practise and also open herself to attacks by those to whom she preaches.
According to this very “discerning view”, this is LKS’s subterranean agenda : to urge the PM to use ASEAN to champion the international cause of human rights in order to serve the domestic political agenda of improving that record back here.
And after postulating this very “discerning view”, the commentator sits back and self-applauds himself on what he perceives as his exceptional uncanny perspectives and insights into deep psychological recesses of LKS and berated others for the lack thereof. :)
#22 by limkamput on Monday, 18 May 2009 - 7:51 am
Jeffrey, sometimes I insulted others when the views are moronic. I can’t help it. If a person can’t stand his/her views challenged, then perhaps he/she shouldn’t be here. Sometimes other insulted me. So what is the issue here? Like the lose cannon ball here, did I say anything about him here? He did not even understand what my comment was all about and yet want to open his big mouth.
Contrary to what you said, I think I have contributed more than many others here, and on variety of subjects, certainly not just law and more laws.
When I commented TomToe’s posting, there was no Chin Ann’s posting. Am I supposed to wait or anticipate what others got to say before I posted my comments? In any case I have the right to pick and choose; it is my right as much as it is yours. May I ask why of so many comments here, you chose to write 8 paragraphs on me? Was that selective? You know the answer, Sir Jeffrey.
Tell you what; you should learn to accept challenge. I think you are a class above, and that is why I am challenging you. For many others, I only make fun.
#23 by limkamput on Monday, 18 May 2009 - 7:59 am
Jeffrey, your last posting – well said. Thank you for writing so eloquently for me because I would not be able to write so convincingly :). You must be convinced of my argument, thank you for listening :). Sorry I have to go earning a living, may be we continue later on other topics.
#24 by Jeffrey on Monday, 18 May 2009 - 8:00 am
So the way to make a prostitute change her calling is, according to this very “discerning” poster, to subject her to stress.
(Here we’re talking of someone who plies her trade secretly in the night secretly and always pretends to be upholder of public virtues in the day.)
What does one do? One publicly urges and cajoles her to walk the talk on her so called beliefs in virtues by lecturing the wayward in voice stentorian!
If she declines the offer to lecture morals, then straightaway she can be exposed for what she is – that she neither believes or lives up to her claims of public morality .
If she, on the other hand, accepts, she would feel the strain of preaching the opposite of what she practices and, in any case, will subject herself to invidious accusations of hypocrisy by those to whom she preaches.
Either way she is in dilemma; either way she is screwed (no pun intended).
To avoid such strain and dilemmas, she would (hopefully) turn over a new leaf and cultivate a less promiscuous calling.
That’s the LKS way as divined by Mr Nincoompoop.
#25 by Jeffrey on Monday, 18 May 2009 - 8:27 am
Per what Lim Kam Put says – “a person can’t stand his/her views challenged, then perhaps he/she shouldn’t be here” – hello I don’t think any one here has a problem in having his/her view challenged, but challenging or engaging (ordinarily in a civil and rational way) is not synonymous with insulting that may generate a spiral of counter insults leading to the entire forum being highjacked.
“sometimes I insulted others when the views are moronic. I can’t help it.” – “I can’t help it” is hardly a good reason as others also can’t help it to retaliate.
Personally I have no problem about insults or trading insults in good spirited way but what I or you think is not all that is involved: you have also to think of what the host LKS, the Moderator and other forumers want here.
#26 by Loh on Tuesday, 19 May 2009 - 5:58 pm
Myanmar junta and Malaysian government same same. How to condemn?